Today on Sludgelord I am interviewing Soph Day from brilliant UK Doom/Psych/Stoner Metallers – Alunah – who have got quite the reputation for their intense blend of Doom/Stoner Metal Music mixed with Psych and Occult Rock through out their music.

Alunah have just released their superb new album – White Hoarhound which is receiving praise all over the place. This is a must have album which I reviewed very recently. Well Soph (Lead Vocalist and Guitarist) kindly agreed to talk to me.

Q1 – Hi Soph. Firstly, thanks for doing this and taking the time to talk to us at Sludgelord. We really appreciate it.

No worries! Thanks for the support, anyone who knows me will tell you I love to talk.

Q2 – For People not in the know – Can you tell them how the band came about, When you formed etc...

We started in 2006 by accident really, Dave (who's also my husband) used to play in a band called Sonic Lord and we always used to see this couple at their shows. During one of my drunken episodes I started chatting to them and kind of signed Dave up to have a jam with the guy (who is now our drummer Jake). I went along with him, tried some vocals out and the band was born. Gaz replaced our previous bass player in 2009, and we met him from playing gigs with his other band General.

Q3 – How would yourselves describe your sound.

We used to call ourselves "psych, blues, doom" but you tend to get pigeon holed then and people turn up expecting a psychedelic band or a blues band. We have doom, blues, stoner, rock 'n' roll and psychedelic elements to our sound but when it comes down to it, we're just a straight up heavy rock band.

Q4 – Which bands influence you on your music.

We each have many different influences, and we don't always agree with each other's view of what makes a great band hahaha. Between us we're influenced by a broad spectrum of music including Alice in Chains, Acid King, Soundgarden, Goatsnake, 13th Floor Elevators, Sabbath, Zeppelin, Iron Maiden, Pink Floyd, Bottom, Cream, Sleep... I could go on forever. For me personally, vocalists that inspire me include Janis Joplin, Lori S, Grace Slick, Tairrie B and Joni Mitchell.

Q5 – Is the band a full time project or do you have full time jobs to contend with.

Unfortunately we have full time jobs as well, without them we couldn't do the band but they also get in the way of doing the band, it's a vicious circle. Between us we work in marketing, electronics, design and printing, so some great skills for being in a band haha. I'm chuffed that Orange Goblin have recently announced that after 17 years they are finally giving their jobs up to go full time with the band, that's the dream right there!

Q6 – What is the song-writing process like in the band. Is it a whole band collective or individuals that write the music.

Generally the whole band write the songs, we each have our own sections but it usually starts with the riff which Dave usually comes up with, then we build the song around that. Melody and lyrics come last, and that's my job. Having Gaz (who is primarily a guitarist), in the band, really helps as he's an awesome song writer and comes up with great riff and song ideas. For example, White Hoarhound was Gaz's riff and you can really tell the difference from Dave's more doomier and more bluesy riffs. It's cool to have that variety.

Q7 – You have received a whole load of great praise for your first two albums that most of took you by surprise. Are you happy with the response you have got so far.

So happy, like you say we did well from reviews for Call of Avernus, and have done so far for White Hoarhound. The second album is so important, especially when your debut was so well received, and I hope that people can see how Alunah have grown and even more importantly, like the album. To be honest, even if it was poorly received, we made it for ourselves and we're happy with it, anyone else enjoying it is a bonus. The most nervous we've been was when Mark at PsycheDOOMelic Records listened for the first time, he's the one investing in it and he loved it.. phew!

Q8 – Can you tell us a bit more about White Hoarhound. What it's about as it's got a lot of creepy vibes going on.

I think there's a lot of melancholy on this album, probably a lot of it subconscious. This is the first time I've explained the idea behind the name and title track, the name was originally conceived in Llandudno in North Wales. Dave (our lead guitarist and my husband) and I were there on holiday and my Dad had recently been diagnosed with lung cancer.

We went up the Great Orme which is a huge, beautiful headland which I've been going to since I was in the womb! We were reading some info about the plants which were natural to the area. White Hoarhound (normally spelt White Horehound) was one of them and was used by the monks to treat coughs and general lung conditions. In my head there and then I wrote the song. It seemed so apt to my current situation fuelled by my interest in mother nature, and was just a great name. After chatting to the guys we decided that was the name of the album. That's the only personal song on the album, and perhaps the most emotional. The rest of the songs are about moments in English pagan history and just generally about witchcraft, sacrifice, myth and magic. I love reading about those subjects, I can escape into a different world and it helps explain things to me - I suppose in a way other religions do to other people.Q9 – Now your partner Dave is in the band. Is that a hard dynamic to contend with having your partner being in the same band as yourself. Does it cause any extra stress at times.

No its totally cool, no stress or dramas at all. Dave's my husband of almost a year and we've been together for 14 years. I love being in a band with him, when we're doing band stuff we're just band mates. He's my rock and best mate, he was the one to encourage me in the first place to have the confidence to be in a band. He gives me guidance on the best equipment to buy as he's a complete music geek, and indulges my interest in paganism and the occult (and pretends to look interested when I explain my lyrics).

As I said earlier, my Dad has been very poorly recently, and we've gone through a very tough time of late, I couldn't have got through it without Dave - as well as Jake and Gaz. Dave went through the same with his Dad when we recorded our Fall to Earth EP, and we were all there for each other then. Jake was our best man, his girlfriend Liv was one of my bridesmaids, Gaz and his girlfriend Michelle (and the lady who recently tattooed some Alunah artwork onto me) were also at the wedding. This is going to sound cheesy, but we're all extended family - we know when to be there for each other, and when to back off.

Q10 – What has been the reception like to your live gigs. Has it all been good responses. Any major live highlights so far.

We have a great response from most of our live shows, of course any band will tell you that there are amazing gigs and shit gigs, but generally we have a great time. Our early shows were a bit hit and miss but we were all trying to find our feet and a lot of people in the 'scene' didn't get what we were about. Our 3rd gig was supporting doom legends Trouble, and we were quite frankly shit! That didn't do much to raise our profile amongst fans, but the venue asked us back to support Paradise Lost so not too bad overall! My personal highlights have been supporting Acid King and Fu Manchu as well as our numerous tours including my favourite with Italy's Doomraiser. That tour should have been Solace headlining but because of Visa issues they couldn't make it and Doomraiser stepped up from main support - such an awesome band! We've also played with Witchcraft, Karma 2 Burn, Graveyard, Nebula, Firebird, Orange Goblin... amongst many other awesome heavyweights! We've worked very hard and have had some amazing opportunities.Q11 – Do you get many gigs in your home town. Or do you have to travel around a lot.

Not so much our home town as between us we live in Solihull, Coventry and Brownhills, so the closest place to all of us is Birmingham. Bearing that in mind, we do play Birmingham a lot - especially our home from home, Scruffy Murphys. We do also travel around a lot, but so far only in England. In 2013 we have plans to get out of England, and are currently planning for a couple of tours.

Q12 – When you started the band what were your original hopes and dreams for the band. And have they been met yet.

When we started we just wanted to make great music that we enjoyed, then as you develop you have fresh hopes and dreams such as playing with certain bands, getting a record deal, having an album in the shops etc. We've achieved the majority of what we originally set out to do, and have met so many amazing people along the way whilst doing it. The next step is to give up our day jobs and go on tour with Black Sabbath!

Q13 – Now I know Gaz is involved with the brilliant Sludge/Stoner Rock Band – General. Are any other members involved with any other projects of any kind we should know about.

Yeah, General are awesome and that's how we met Gaz initially. Jake and I aren't involved with any other musical projects. Dave used to play guitar in Sonic Lord and bass in Godsize. Unfortunately, both bands have now split up but when Alunah started he was busy with all 3 bands.

Q14 – What are your favourite bands around at the moment. Do you listen to modern day rock/metal or do you just listen to the classic era of Stoner Rock/Hard Rock

I tend to mainly listen to classic bands and artists such as The Doors, Big Brother and the Holding Company, Joni Mitchell, Jeff Buckley and Led Zeppelin. I also love more modern bands such as Red Fang, Jucifer, The Black Keys, Blood Ceremony, Big Elf and Ghost. We're lucky to be part of a great scene in England which is busily bubbling away under the surface, getting ready to blow up and hopefully make a massive mark. We're lucky to have friends in awesome bands such as Gringo, General, Dead Existence, Trippy Wicked, Gurt, Grifter, Desert Storm, Burden of the Noose, Bastard of the Skies, Selfless, Berserkewitz, Sally and Undersmile! That's a very small list amongst some top bands, we're very lucky to play amongst these guys.

Q15 – What are the most and least rewarding aspects of participating with the band.

For me the most rewarding aspect is seeing people bang their heads at our live shows, and see them get into the music. It's also really lovely to meet new people all the time, especially those who we finally meet after chatting on the net. I'd say the least rewarding is that shitty moment at 4am when you've played a long sweaty gig, driven back for hours and unloaded the equipment, only to have 2 hours sleep before getting up for work. You've got to love being in a band to constantly put up with that.

Q16 – What is your view of bands and blogs giving away music for free. Lot of bands and people have different perspectives.

If the person who has paid for the recording and pressing, whether it be the band or the label, has agreed to the giveaway then why not. If it helps to get a bands music out to a wider audience then fair play. However, when I don't always agree with free music is when someone else decides to leak the music. We had that with White Hoarhound when a press contact leaked the album to torrent sites, a month before the release date. Saying that however, it did actually help us out in the end, our website visits went through the roof and we had tonnes of pre-orders, the opposite could have happened though, we actually benefited from it. I have no issue with a band making the decision to give their own music away for free, it's another form of promotion and in this day and age it needs to be considered as part of the wider picture.

Q17 – I think it's great that female vocalists like yourself, Mlny (Royal Thunder), Hel and Taz (Undersmile), Stevie from Dark Castle and Sara from Bezoar are making a name for yourselves and bringing a fresh perspective to a male orientated genre. You must be proud of doing something different and unique.

Yeah I suppose so haha, I don't like to concentrate on the female vocal thing too much. We used to sell ourselves using the "female fronted doom" angle, but really there shouldn't be a separation of genders, we're just all making heavy music. I'd rather us be known for doing something different regarding how we put melodies and songs together, rather than the fact that I'm a woman. It is nice for people to recognise us for doing something different, but I'd rather it be down to all of our efforts rather than just my gender.

Q18 – What advice or words of wisdom would you give to upcoming bands and musicians who are about to start a Sludge/Doom/Stoner Rock Band.

Write music for yourself and don't listen to, or follow trends. If we listened to what people said about us in the early days, we wouldn't be here now. It's very satisfying to read comments or reviews from people now, who I know for a fact detested us 2 years ago. That's why I'm in love with Jucifer - you can't pigeon hole those guys, every song you listen to is different. They're doing what they want to do without giving a shit what's fashionable. Very few music fans like bands who try to do new things, it challenges them and if they don't instantly understand it they presume they hate it. If what you're doing is of a decent quality, these people will eventually get on board (not always, but sometimes), but until then, don't let their shitty comments ruin what is a truly awesome experience. You'll meet plenty of amazing people who are moved by the music you write.

Q19 – What are your views of blogs such as the Sludgelord reviewing your records, as opposed to mainstream music magazines? Has your music reached the mainstream mags, at home or around the world?

Awesome! I don't care which publication writes about Alunah - big or small, or even what they say, I'm just happy anyone takes the time and effort to write about us. I've told this story so many times but it's how I see things. The artist Salvador Dali never read his press, instead he weighed it regularly and if it got heavier, he knew more publications were writing about him - job done, happy Salvador! I now have the same outlook, I do read all of our press but I don't beat myself up anymore if it's shit. We have had the likes of Terrorizer, Kerrang, Zero Tolerance, Rock Sound and Metal Hammer take notice which is cool. In fact, we were recently MSN Entertainments album of the week, and featured in Terrorizer's Doom issue where we were amongst Undersmile and Trippy Wicked as the "Future of Doom" which was very flattering. We're equally as happy with the more underground publications such as Sludgelord, Doomantia, Soggy Bog, The Obelisk, Metal Kaoz, Planet Mosh, Soda Shop, Ninehertz and Fast 'n' Bulbous write about us. Support is support and were very blessed to have recently received a lot of it.

Q20 - Lastly do you have anything you want to say to your fans.

Massive love going out to you Steve for the support you've shown us with your recent review, and with this interview. Thanks to everyone who has brought a copy of White Hoarhound, seen us at a recent live show, brought us a drink and just been generally supportive of us. Check out updates at http://www.alunah.co.uk r http://www.facebook.com/alunah.doom.

PsycheDOOMelic has a gem on their hands here and they are doing the world a huge favour by releasing Alunah's second full-length album White Hoarhound. This quartet from the Midlands, England has a lot of weight on their shoulders playing doom and hailing from the same area that spawned the forefathers of doom, Black Sabbath.To my ears though they have no worries about this at all, instead they conjur some deft and highly original and magic-inducing heaviness. Already at the first note I am hooked and completely captivated.Every time I listen to White Hoarhound a line from Masters Of Reality's song High Noon Amsterdam keeps popping up..Stuck my nose in a rose in a hole and it felt like a dream. For me that sentence is the essence of Alunah. Their music is lead-heavy, trippy, slow and riff-ladden and also very evocative, so all these ingredients are why the words of Masters Of Reality epitomizes what Alunah are and play. So light it up, toke, stick your nose in the hole and let Alunah take you on a headfuck of a space trip of unsurpassed magnitudes!

The music is of course a key factor in creating Alunah's spaced-out heaviness but let's not forget Soph Day. The vocalist/ guitarist's voice is so beautiful and entrancing that it elevates the band to dimensions beyond the sun. While she on the one hand sounds very delicate and almost frail, on the other hand she has immense power and this combination is absolutely fantastic. Her singing backed by the excellent band makes Alunah and White Hoarhound just about other-worldy.

Gaz Imber and Jake Mason are laying down the law on bass guitar and drums respectively. Whether the music is heavy or a bit softer, they keep it together perfectly allowing Dave Day and Soph to space-out, jam and riff without any restraints. And that's an awesome trait which unshackles their music. In all it's heaviness there is a beautiful flow thanks to Alunah's unrestrained musicality.

Another important ingredient for the band is their pagan leanings and their love for Mother Nature. The first song, Demeter's Grief, is a good example of this. However Mother Nature is a constant presence in whatever Alunah do. And the combination of the heavy music, Soph's awesome etheral yet powerful voice and the pagan/nature themes in their songs are what makes Alunah so great!

Surprises are nice when they bring something good. I consider myself a doomhead but I still hadn't really heard of Alunah until I was asked to check them out for a possible review. And what a surprise White Hoarhound is. Each listen gives a new nuance adding more to the band's greatness each time. If you like excellent epic music White Hoarhound is a must. If you simply like great music period you're a fool if you don't add this album to your collection. Get a copy, listen and get mesmerized and then spread the gospel of Alunah to everyone you know!

Let me proclaim a shameful personal truth, I've never been all that taken with Alunah, but White Hoarhound could well be the record that changes all that.Having seen them live before and heard previous album Call of Avernus I'd possibly written them off as another metallic doom band (as I still maintain there are far too many Sabbath also-rans about). What has impressed me with White Hoarhound is an instilled sense of autumnal misery that envelopes the slow to medium pace they have adopted and the lyrics of singer and guitarist Soph Day. The whole album has an undeniable Sabbath influence and brings to mind the 90s doom and roll stylings of Khang, who used to combine great lyrics with a both downtrodden but uplifting sound, as Alunah are doing here. Although I'm not getting the vibe that this is a concept album, there is certainly a theme running through the songs. Fantasy and whimsical stories are told, all with a notion of dread or sadness and Soph's vocals seem to be a real standout on here, something which I'd not previously noticed before. There's some effects on them at times, which actually serves to lift them, rather than mask her talents, no autotune for these guys, more cosmic space phasing. The closing pair of songs, Oak Ritual one and two are almost mirrored, the first plots an acoustic course, with some Planet Caravan style meandering and self-introspection taking over. The theme bursts into life in part two as the sound takes off, the central lyrics rising to the surface, sounding even more epic the second time round. Elsewhere, the title track seems the most legendary and mythical in creating a story, not unlike a fireside ghost story or an introduction to an epic fantasy film, Soph's lyrics slowly reveal a narrative you can really immerse yourself in. More of this kind of thing please, here at ninehertz towers we hear enough about fast cars, women and booze to last us a lifetime. Cheers Alunah, your individuality has fought through here and you've made your highly-honed art stand out in ways we rarely see.http://www.ninehertz.co.uk/viewitem/4012

After a brief hiatus from live music over the summer, Black Sunrise’s wall of noise hit me like a sledgehammer as they kicked off a sterling lineup of stoner/doom at the Wheatsheaf. The band utilizes a mixture of screeching, dissonant lead guitar and a powerful partnership of bass and drums to create an instrumental sound with the potential for real brutality. Vocals, on the other hand, were a little quiet tonight, and, dare I say, even sounded weak in places! Although this may have been partly the fault of the venue sound on the night, I thought Black Sunrise’s bassist/vocalist looked a great deal more comfortable and confident in the moments when he was able to step away from the mic. I also noticed a degree of sloppiness in the performance of the band as a whole, but given the style of their music, this poses less of a problem for them as it would for a more technical, ‘modern’ metal band. Even so, I felt their performance would have been enhanced by a performance as tight the next band on the lineup, Caravan of Whores, whose opening improvisation blossomed to monstrous life as this trio of doom-merchants locked into perfect synchronisation. This is doom metal at its finest – bluesy, trippy, well defined, and yet possessive of a crushing air of pure heaviness which is hard to pin down on any one element of the music. A factor in this is the confidence with which frontman Pete Smith and his bandmates nonchalantly rip through their lengthy songs. The intimate, sweaty nature of a venue like The Wheatsheaf only adds to the impact of a truly outstanding set.The size of the crowd seemed to peak towards the end of Caravan of Whores’ set, which was unfortunate given that the high quality of the night’s entertainment continued with Alunah, a female-fronted doom band from Birmingham, arguably the birthplace of heavy metal. Alunah have to be one of the loudest live bands I’ve ever had the pleasure of enjoying, and this only enhanced their fuzzed out ‘wall of noise’ sound. Unfortunately, frontwoman Soph Day seemed to be having as many problems hearing her vocals as I was, but nonetheless Alunah exuded power and confidence in a performance which was nothing if not impressive!

I’ve somehow avoided seeing local legends Mother Corona live up until this point, which is something that I was sorely regretting by around a minute into their set. Despite severe technical problems, the band blasted through their (sadly shortened) set with a casual sense of energy, whipping the crowd into an absolute frenzy with their cover of ‘I Wanna be Your Dog’ by The Stooges. Mother Corona didn’t perform the tightest set I’ve ever seen, but they remained one of the most enjoyable bands on the night by the sheer sense of brotherhood and enjoyment that was evident as their songs ripped through the crowd. I’d definitely recommend anyone with a love for all things stoner going to one of their gigs in the future!

Alunah’s rise has been marked and impressive these last several years. The four-piece hail from Birmingham – a pretty good place to be from if you’re into the heavy – and their latest offering is White Hoarhound. The album is their debut for new label PsycheDOOMelic and their second full-length overall behind 2010’s impressive Call of Avernus debut (review here), a split with Queen Elephantine (review here) in 2009 and 2008’s preceding Fall to Earth EP, and the central difference between it and everything the band has done to this point is a clarity of mindset. With White Hoarhound’s seven tracks/47 minutes, what’s most apparent in listening is that Alunah have a much clearer idea than they’ve ever had before of who and what they are as a band. The guitars of Sophie Day and Dave Day are thick, viscous and forward in the mix alongside Gaz Imber’s bass, and Jake Mason’s drums beat out straightforward motion in line with the riffs. They are rarely showy as a band, but these songs deliver quality heaviness, a few standout choruses, and a solidified aesthetic rooted in pagan-style nature-worshiping lyrics. Sophie’s vocals are a defining element, and where in the past I’ve likened her voice to Lori S., that’s never been less true than it is on White Hoarhound. Some similarities remain, but as Sophie begins to come into her own as a singer, she necessarily leaves that and other such influences behind her. One still gets the sense in listening to their second album that Alunah are continuing to develop as a unit, but there are plenty of instances throughout the sophomore LP that show that potential beginning to pay off, both in terms of songwriting, as on the title-cut, and in terms of performance, as on the harmonized acoustic guitar/organ penultimate track, “Oak Ritual I.” The production of Greg Chandler (who also helmed Call of Avernus) and a mixing/mastering job from the increasingly ubiquitous Tony Reed finds the album moody but crisp, and with a darker atmosphere around them than last time out, the doom in Alunah’s sound has never come across better than it does here.As on the debut, that doom comes tempered with a fuzz rock mentality that ties these tracks closely to the riffs on which they’re founded. Alunah would hardly be the first band to be driven by the progressions of their guitars, but it sets up a singularity of approach that plays out across much of White Hoarhound. I don’t necessarily think it’s a detriment to the album, however, since the mood is varied along the way and the unit don’t tie themselves to just one structure. That is, not every verse sounds the same, not every riff sounds the same, not every song winds up in the same place. So while it’s the riffs being followed, the destination changes. They touch on psychedelia here and there, as in the very intro of the album on opener “Demeter’s Grief,” but on the whole, it’s a doomier kind of sound than last time out, thicker, with Gaz’s bass right up front playing off Sophie and Dave’s guitars. No complaints there. The grooves are weighted but not drudging, and “Demeter’s Grief” does a solid job in setting up the listener for what’s to come throughout the album, shifting smoothly between a slower verse and more upbeat chorus, catchy and memorable with semi-mystical lyrics that serve as a distinguishing factor throughout the whole of White Hoarhound, including on the title-track, which follows and features the best of the album’s choruses. Sophie layers and backs herself on vocals, and the song’s musical bounce and vocal cadence comes across not unlike that of Mars Red Sky’s “Strong Reflection,” the heft in the guitars and bass once more not weighing the song down in the slightest. Alunah move into an effective start-stop groove in the second half, playing up the swagger for a brief break before cutting to a section of noise and skillfully bringing back the verse with a gong hit and revitalized purpose. Rightly, they end with the chorus, and shift directly into Mason’s drum intro for “Belial’s Fjord,” which at 8:03 is the longest track on the album, closer “Oak Ritual II” having a longer runtime but ending earlier.

The album’s midsection – “Belial’s Fjord,” “The Offering” and “The Chester Midsummer Watch Parade” – accounts for much of its substance, and by the time the solo kicks in three minutes into the first of those cuts, Alunah are well at home in a low end groove, Imber riding out the rhythm with Mason in anticipation of the song picking back up, which, of course, it does. Somewhat less immediate than either “White Hoarhound” or “Demeter’s Grief,” “Belial’s Fjord” nonetheless confirms the atmosphere of those tracks and the album as a while – Sophie introduces us to the fjord itself, repeating the line “Please let me drown” in the process. The only thing Ms. Day is in danger of drowning in is her own guitar tone, and fortunately, it doesn’t come to that. “Belial’s Fjord” builds to a spacious apex in an almost devious manner, the chorus being secondary until the last time through when you realize you know it by heart already, and the leadwork throughout – as prevalent here as anywhere on White Hoarhound – satisfies without ever delving into self-indulgent shred. For its first minute, “The Offering” seems to follow a similar course of ethereal doom, but the intro soon dissolves into a quirkier, off-time riff that Mason backs well, nestling into a smooth and straightforward half-time stomp. A more adventurous drummer might have tried to keep pace with the guitars as they moved through, but Alunah aren’t about flash any way you cut it, so Mason plays it right in his ethic. At the same time, “The Offering” shows how Alunah are still growing as a unit. Not for anything in their performance, exactly, but just in how the track is constructed and how it stops and starts again after the intro, the former hardly a memory by the time they move into the chorus, fuller-toned – Imber’s fills are especially potent – and once again catchy in unrepentant fashion. Mason leads a bridge topped by a wah-heavy solo and they springboard back into the chorus, capping that and the song as a whole with more fuzzy soloing. Sneakily keeping the same reliance on a pop structure, “The Chester Midsummer Watch Parade” opens with creepy ambience and an even creepier bass and drum rhythm from Imber and Mason that highlights just how essential the two are to making this material work.Doomed and sleepier in its verse, “The Chester Midsummer Watch Parade” veers into some psychedelics in its pre-chorus, which echoes into an oblivion created by its own tonal largesse before the chorus hook arrives to once again highlight the balance in Alunah’s sound between one side and the other. To call it stoner doom might give an impression undercutting some of the intricacies in the vocals and the guitars, but I still don’t think it would be wrong. There’s a burst of life in the solo and bridge of “The Chester Midsummer Watch Parade,” but the vibe overall is by far more languid than on “The Offering,” the band doing well to set the one next to the other and highlight the dynamic at play on White Hoarhound. The flourish of Hammond — a guest contribution from Reed — in “Oak Ritual I” does a lot to both enhance the acoustics and fill out the proceedings, the only other element of which is Sophie’s singing, capably harmonized. That proves to be plenty as the 2:32 intro/interlude cut gives way to closer “Oak Ritual II,” which uses at least some of the same lyrics but repurposes them over a heavier progression – the fuzz revived – that nonetheless has hints of melodic complexity under the dense weight of its riffage. Listening, I wish the vocal harmonies bled over from one track to the next, but Sophie strips her approach back down to where it rested for the vast majority of White Hoarhound, following the guitar with some variations of melody and tentative-seeming excursions of range. If they’re unassuming or humble, however, that only makes them consistent with the rest of what goes into Alunah’s tracks, which wind up a righteous play on genre as the quieter lead section of “Oak Ritual II” starts the build at 5:31 that will provide the final push of the record. They end with the apex, cutting to a bit of a ringout that feeds back and is gone by 7:10, and after the nine-minute mark, the organ returns for a ghostly minute-plus of atmosphere accompanied by echoing noise and sampled thunderstorm. As with Call of Avernus, Alunah chose a title-track (or perhaps it chose them; did I just blow your mind?) that features some of the album’s highlight moments, but there’s plenty in the rest of White Hoarhound that lives up to the promise the earlier cuts drive toward. Accordingly, the album itself succeeds because of how well the songs, “White Hoarhound” included, interact with each other and set up an overarching flow, no less fluid than any groove that emerges within them. Alunah remain a bright spot in the up and coming British heavy underground, and the growth prevalent here confirms they’re on the right course for developing their sound and style. Unpretentious heavy is always welcome by me.http://theobelisk.net/obelisk/2012/09/24/alunah-white-hoarhound-review/

(Review translated from German)Female vocals is a phenomenon which is becoming the folk / psychedelic / Occult / doom / retro rock constant popularity. That is also when listening to ALUNAHs "White Hoarhound" understandable, because the quartet does not only have rock solid, slow rhythm work and very nice, reminiscent of Saint Vitus' Victor Griffin guitars, but mainly by the very, very nice clean vocals of frontwoman Soph . S celebration of melancholy that comes crawling deep and sluggish from the boxes is brightened by Sophs voice indeed, but never completely loses her sad and melancholy component.

Entry is elegiac, with "Demeter's Grief". Demeter, in Greek mythology, the goddess of agriculture and fertility, must have experienced a series of bad harvests to sound like the album begins. From here on it's the title track downhill. Majestic and epic, yet almost mythical Nordic's going on "Belial's Fjord", where ALUNAH bring their folky side pleasant advantage. My favorite is the two-part final piece "Oak ritual" that could constitute a small nod to Sydney / Australia, where also blessed with a gifted singer RITUALS OF THE OAK similar music-making songs that are as for the refinement of cool horror movies actually impose. Who appreciates BLOOD RITUAL and WOUNDED KINGS estimates also estimated ALUNAH. All other an unbiased ear pre-listening is recommended.http://www.myrevelations.de/index.php?section=reviews&module=cdreviews&submodule=review_detail&reviewid=10616

On being dubbed "the future of doom" by influential Terrorrizer the Alunah jumped to the mouths of the world. And is not the case for less: Hoarhoud White, the band's second album Brirmingham, has all the makings to become a classic, though, tells us how the guitarist and vocalist Soph Day, the Alunah be much more than a simple banda of doom.

Hi! Thank you for answer to Via Nocturna’s questions. First of all, who are Alunah? Can you introduce the band to Portuguese fans?

Hey! We're a heavy rock band (some say doom metal, some say stoner metal... but basically a heavy rock band), from various areas near Birmingham, England. We've been around since 2006 and have just released our second album "White Hoarhound" on PsycheDOOMelic Records.

One of the most curiosity things is your name! What’s the meaning of Alunah?

Originally we were spelt Aluna, and were initially named after a Mindfunk song. We quickly came to realise that there were various other definitions of the word, all centred around mother nature, that fit us perfectly. It's the name of a tidal powered moon clock and also a principle of the Kogi people, a genuine lost civilisation hidden on a remote pyramid mountain in Colombia. We then had a problem with the copyright regarding another band called Aluna around 2008, so we added the 'h' and in retrospect we much prefer the spelling whilst still maintaining the pronunciation.

White Hoarhound is already your second release. What differences can you tell to your debut?

We wrote "Call of Avernus", our debut, over the course of 3-4 years and there are many different sounds and styles on the album. With "White Hoarhound", we wrote it over a year and had a firm idea of the sound we wanted to create. I think you can tell that it flows better, the sounds have evolved and it has a more solid direction.

How was the recording process this time?

We recorded with Greg Chandler (SerpentCult, Moss) at Priory Studios again. We were so happy and comfortable with our debut that we wanted to work with him again, he's in Esoteric so he has a good idea of what we want to create. This time we mixed and mastered with Tony Reed (St. Vitus), we met him when his band Stone Axe came over to England, but have known him since we featured on the same Catacomb Records compilation with his other band Mos Generator. Tony contributed not just the production, but he also played some Hammond Organ and Mellatron on the album. He also composed the secret bonus track using our recording from underneath Birmingham's bridges, beside the canals. We've been so happy working with both guys, we're lucky to have had such a great team behind us.

And how you would describe the music in White Hoarhound?

It's really difficult to describe it since we've been listening to it constantly since we recorded in April. I'd say it's darker than our debut, the positive reviews we have been getting say that the song writing has stepped up a gear and I'd agree with that also. We've thought about the songs a lot more, I've also tried to write melodies that are both catchy and melancholy at the same time.

You have received excellent reviews so now. Did you expect that success?

Without sounding egotistical, we knew we'd written a good album as we'd all sit there with shit eating grins on our faces when we played it back. However, the response to it has gone above and beyond our expectations. In the first week of release it made 3 album of the week lists, including for MSN Entertainment which was amazing.

This is a PsycheDOOMelic release, but in the same week you have signed two record deals. Is that right? Can you explain what happened?

Yeah it just so happened that we joined the PsycheDOOMelic roster the day after we'd spoke to Ed Barnard from Doomantia about re-releasing our debut on vinyl. Unfortunately that fell through after we'd announced it. It's a shame but we would still love to release both our debut and White Hoarhound on vinyl. We released a limited edition split 7" vinyl a few years ago on Catacomb Records with Queen Elephantine from Hong Kong and would love to bring our sound to vinyl again. Whilst on the subject of Doomantia, Ed has been an avid supporter of Alunah from day 1, recently he has had some personal problems which if you are a regular visitor to his site you will know about. We have said it before but Ed is such a great man we sincerely hope things start to look up for him.

Recently, Terrorrizer said that you are the “future of doom”. How do you receive these words? They can put in Alunah some extra pressing to the future releases or not?

It was very flattering and I hope we do make some kind of mark on the doom scene. However, doom isn't the only thing we do. We'd love to have recognition for being a band who aren't afraid of trying something new. It took us a while to get taken seriously, its only the past couple of years where I think people have done just that and understood what we're trying to do. There are always going to be "doom purists" out there who don't enjoy what were doing, but we don't write music for them. If people enjoy our music, that's a bonus! For a major "extreme" magazine to give us recognition, that's pretty cool!

Forged in the heart of the Midlands, White Hoarhound is a riff-laden trip through a doom landscape that resonates through the ages back to the birth of metal and the dark entry of heavy metal that exploded on the scene courtesy of the granddaddies of all metal Black Sabbath.

This album is the follow up to the bands début Call of Avernus and the first on their new label psycheDOOMelic and sees a huge step in quality and production. Fast becoming one of the most sought after live acts on the doom/stoner/desert rock scene, Alunah have managed to capture that raw energy on this album that has won them so many plaudits.

The album itself kicks off with ‘Demeter’s Grief’ and the Sabbath legacy is immediately apparent, but then the vocals kick in and it’s obvious this is no mere clone of the Brummie legends. The juxtaposition of heavy doom riffs and the delicate, haunting vocals of Soph Day are what makes this band stand out from others in this genre.

The teeth rattling riffs continue with the title track ‘White Hoarhound’, probably the most accessible and commercial track on the album and a good starting point for new comers. The epic ‘Belial’s Fjord’ on the other hand is eight minutes of doom heaven which will appeal to the die hard aficionados.

The versatility of this band is shown on the final two tracks, ‘Oak Ritual I’, a beautifully crafted acoustic based song followed by ‘Oak Ritual II’, a ten minute opus that encompasses all that this band is about.

For the psychedelic doom fraternity, this is a little gem and for those looking to discover new sounds, it may seem heavy going at first, but I urge you to stick with it and you will be won over by those dirty sludgy riffs that are kept under control by the mesmeric vocals.

Because it's Monday morning, we're all feeling a bit shit after a hectic weekend and mainly because we haven't done a competition for a while... we're gonna do one!

The "Rock Out With Your Cock Out" Competition involves you sending us photos * of you / your mate / your mom / your dog in an Alunah shirt! The title implies it's just for men... we'd also like ladies to enter [Gaz, Jake and Dave would especially like ladies to enter].

The prize goes to the most random / unusual / creative photo and you'll win..

ALUNAH latest album "White Hoarhound" is like a blow between the eyes. PENTAGRAM moderate the metal is awesome. Are the main message of the music could be: if you can see something, you must not touch it too! ALUNAH are rough, dirty and nasty. And to all yet to miss the coronation, there's the "White Hoarhound" even somewhat melancholy. For all other songs but it's more accurate to doomy affair with ruthless drums, striking riffs (this is particularly 'The Offering' highlighted) and promising arrangements.So here is: blast the music and enjoy! But look out, here it is easy to lose control of the brain and body. Conclusion: Stop crying and you go buy the damn album.

According play these British, but I confess I was the first one material that I have the pleasure of hearing.The sound practiced by them is a Stoner / Doom, and the school was formed Electric Wizard and post graduate school Black Sabbath. A differential that is due to the banda singer, but a woman, Soph Day and his vocal timbre makes the sound somewhat enigmatic traveler.Demeter's Grief opens the play and often becomes exciting and it's hard not to bangear psychedelic sound of guitars.White Hoarhound is the second track, musically is a bit slower than the opening track and has a vocal line somewhat sticky and as soon as you're singing.Following we Belial's Fjord , following a line more doom, and with his guitar line bordering on psychedelia and if the listener is carried away, he literally travels.The Offering starts with some cryptic vocalizations, keeping the psychedelic spirit, but the following passage I found particularly vocal repetitive and not very pleased me, because for me it was missing something. Already in the following riffs and chorus pike back leaving it exciting. Perhaps this live track works very well and is one of the highlights of the night.Chester Midsummer Watch Parade is heavy, slow and Soph's vocals reach melancholy sound. Gradually the band is gaining strength and increasing its speed.Oak Rite I is an acoustic track with a line and Folk / Ritual vai creating a climate for the next track Oak Ritual II .The introduction of this track reminded me greatly Saint Vitus, following the same footprint of the guitars and even the weather it. Despite its long duration, is one of the best songs ever produced by the band and is sure to delight fans in full Stoner and Doom.It is worth mentioning the work of Greg Chandler (Esoteric) in capturing and mixing / mastering on behalf of Tony Reed.

I caught up with Soph Day, vocalist and guitarist in Alunah after I reviewed their album ‘White Hoarhound’, to find out more about the band how they began etc, favourite bands/records and what their plans are and so on.Who formed Alunah and when?It kinda happened by accident, I was at a Sonic Lord show which was Dave our guitarists previous band. Dave and I got chatting to a guy at the bar who we always saw around at stoner/doom shows, that guy turned out to be Jake our drummer. I’d had too much to drink and suggested that Jake and Dave have a jam, I went along for a laugh and ended up singing on one of the tunes they were jamming. Thats how it all happened.How were the rest of the band found?Gaz our bassist joined in 2009 to replace our previous bassist. We met him through his other band General who he plays guitar for, we always used to get on really well with the General lads – they’re always up for a laugh and are an awesome band! When we approached Gaz about joining us on bass he was well up for the idea and hes been a perfect fit!Who are your major influences?We have so many influences that we throw into the pot, you can probably hear a lot of them in the music as we tend to wear them on our sleeve! Between us Id say the main influences would be Black Sabbath (of course), Acid King and grunge bands such as Alice in Chains and Soundgarden. Personally, Janis Joplin and Robert Plant are my favourite vocalists – Im hugely inspired by their style of bluesy singing whilst holding down an awesome melody line! The two ladies who inspired me to want to take singing in a band seriously are Lori S from Acid King and Tairrie B of My Ruin, who I have been a fan of since her Manhole days.Is there a main songwriter in Alunah or is it a band effort?We all play a part in structuring the songs. Dave tends to write all the riffs, but because Gaz is primarily a guitarist he also has some killer riff ideas! I write all the lyrics and vocal melodies, but everyone has input regarding putting it all together and making it work.You had a killer sound on White Hoarhound, what amps do you use?We used a combination of amps in the studio, Dave used a Matamp GT120, I used a Sound City 120 and Marshall JCM 900, and Gaz used an Ampeg bass rig.Any future tour plans?Not touring so much in 2012, but we have some great shows coming up with Gentlemans Pistols, Undersmile, Conan, Black Magician, Ides of Gemini and our friends in Bastard of The Skies. Arkham Witch and Gods of Hellfire. Next year we have some pretty awesome tour plans and well make sure Planet Mosh know about them once they’re finalised.Who was the 1st band you saw?The first band I ever saw was aged 13 at Aston Villa FC Leisure Centre in Birmingham, and it was the Manic Street Preachers on their Everything Must Go tour which was the first they did after Richey disappeared. Catatonia and Gorkys Zygotic Mynci supported. My Dad and my Godfather took me to the show as I was underage, they had a bottle of vodka confiscated which when I told my Mom she was not impressed hahaha. I went through an obsessive Manics phase but they’re new material is not to my taste. Gold Against The Soul and Generation Terrorists are their best albums by far!Have you a favourite studio and live album? I have so many favourite albums, most important to me are “Cheap Thrills” by Big Brother and the Holding Company, “Dummy” by Portishead and “On Fire” by Spiritual Beggars. Im not a massive fan on live albums, there are very few I have actually managed to sit all the way through. Ill listen to Janis Joplins live recordings over and over again, I think her live performances are some of her best! One live album I do love is Life of Agony “20 Year Strong” which was released a few years ago, theyre an awesome band who Ive had the pleasure of seeing live twice.Thank you Soph for taking the time out to complete this interview.Read my 9.5/10 review of ‘White Hoarhound’click here Links:www.alunah.co.ukwww.facebook.com/alunah.doomwww.alunah.bandcamp.com

The Stonner doom metal or whatever you call it, I do not, is another of those musical styles that over the years has increased greatly in number of bands, and of course if we put them all on the balance sabbático many have that aftertaste that depending on the run as the degree of showmanship that they can achieve. For a change this time Alunah like many other bands this side are also English, so it is not difficult to foresee that their sound has a lot of the perennial Black Sabbath or other bands equally relevant to the style as they've been Solitude Aeternus or Trouble.Perhaps the great turning point when compared with other groups is that they have to face with a girl in the task of both vocalist and lead guitarist named Soph Day, and also permeate more groovie touch to his compositions that make sound more gancheros, melodic and direct hundreds more whose names appear monolithic structures always remain anchored in one spot.

Soph guitars and Dave Day have that point that sounds really desert, more pulling to the side of a Kyuss or Fu Manchu about when distortion starts to gain more notoriety as the good "White Hoarhound" whose central melody I found a joy in all of riffs. Soph's voice does indeed maintain that air volatile and that mystique so characteristic of Anglo-American doom epic. Generally have armed pretty well in those subjects called to be his most cathartic and soporific with tracks from the likes of "Belial's Fjord" or the ultra dense piece "Chester Midsummer Watch Parade" where the voice almost naked Soph welcomes you increasingly within this swamp is Alunah music. Good overall sound and instrumentally correct but of course if looking mosh and speed then you have the wrong store. Details and info inhttp://www.facebook.com/alunah.doom and http://alunah.bandcamp.com/ . If you want to get your copy you can do inhttp://shop.psycheDOOMelic.com

The first tendency when looking for Alunah is its provenance: nothing less than Birmingham, the same origin of Black Sabbath . Now, knowing that Alunah play in the championship doom metal that comparison may be reducing the quality of the collective. That is, not just where they are to be good.But the fact is that, regardless of its origin ... they are good! After the Terrorrizer already dubbed the future of doom . We already know that everything that comes from the British press should discount the relative percentage of their ego. Good, but in this case, neither seem to exaggerate. Hoarhound White is the second work of Alunah and features seven themes centered on vocals and guitar work. Vocally, Soph Day is simultaneously delicate and powerful but fits perfectly in the compositions. The guitars develop riffs raw and cold, but with a nice golden melody.And maybe it's engaging in vocal riffs that make White Hoarhound a disc with something more than doom metal . What is evident here is a form of heavy doomwith a groove slow and steady spaces that reaches the stoner , but always with a strong emphasis on melodic structure. Lovers of doom here is a gem to discover in what could be considered one of the best albums of its kind this year. A consistent work, beautiful effect and a remarkable maturity.

There is no doubting the importance of a second album. It often gives the listener a clue on what the future holds for a band. If a band releases a killer début full length and follows it up with an equally killer second album, then you know the band is something special. One of the first elements to look out for is maturity in songwriting and all-round performance. Alunah, the Birmingham-based stoner/doom/psych rock band had a lot to prove with this second release. They released a very good EP with 'Fall To Earth'and then proceeded to blow most people away with a stunning full length début 'Call Of Avernus' and this brand new second full length proves that wasn't no fluke. The new monster release'White Hoarhound' shows that maturity I just mentioned, especially in the songwriting but also in the vocals of front-woman guitarist Soph who continues to grow as a vocalist. This new album, while the same style and sound as the début has songs that have far more depth than anything they have released before. While 'Call Of Avernus' was the sound of a band treading carefully and yet nailing everything they touched, 'White Hoarhound' is the sound of a band brimming with confidence.

The main difference is in how the songs flow and the range of emotions that present themselves on the album. Now with such a stunning début all ready under their belts, trying to top it with a follow-up was never going to be easy but Alunah have almost done it. I say almost because I have a permanent musical hard-on for the début so all I could hope for was something just as good and I am excited to say, this is equally as great, note for note. The main talking point with Alunah is usually the vocals. Female vocals in doom and doom related bands always creates debates and 'White Hoarhound' is already meeting with mixed reactions over the vocals but personally, I feel Soph's vocals are amazingly smooth and sultry and a perfect fit for the catchy riffs and grooves. She always had something that was unique to her and her alone and this new releases shows she has really found her own identity and is now bursting with self-confidence.

Musically this is a more melodic Alunah and slightly more adventurous in the way they mix complex with the simple. The sound is now more layered and thicker than it was before and the great production courtesy of Greg Chandler highlights all the growth areas within the band. Alunah still have the sabbathain riffage but there are far more subtle variations within their new tunes. Opening tune'Demeter's Grief' charges out of the speakers with a sense of urgency even though it is still every much in the stoner/doom/psych vein. The song is based around a couple of indestructible guitar riffs, a couple of exciting mood and tempo changes and sweet, psychedelic-laced guitar solos. The bass lines weave in and out of the track creating a tasty, irresistible groove but there is so much more to soak up during its 7:37 minutes. Take note of the melodies which have more in common with a Wishbone Ash kind of band than any stoner-doom band.

The following title track follows a similar path supplying a great mix of sabbathian doom, psychedelia, stoner-metal and classic 70's rock. While it is a bit more lumbering than the opening track, this track showcases the bands arrival at a more melodic meeting point. Even the guitar leads are dripping with gorgeous melodies in the Thin Lizzy vein but of course done in Alunah's way. The band have never been one to just mindlessly plod along for too long in one direction and there are more twists and turns in the 47 minutes of this album than I think there is on their EP and début album combined. Another mini-epic in 'Belial's Fjord' comes up next which features punishing guitar work and the vocals yet again get another chance to shine. This is the albums most atmospheric track, made possible by some tribal drum work. The next track 'The Offering' has the band picking up the pace with a track full of swagger and energy but it is an awesome guitar solo halfway through the track which really seals the deal, 'The Offering' is pure brilliance.

'Chester Midsummer Watch Parade' is more of the psych-rock/stoner-blues mix that the band is known for and is another perfect track. The opening section produce one of the albums most psychedelic passages and you could be forgiven in thinking at this stage that the bass sound is getting heavier and heavier. They also throw the listener another curveball with a wah-wah solo and it is more proof of the bands ever-increasing sense of musical dynamics. The album ends on the two-part 'Oak Ritual' whose first part serves up acoustic passages with some of the most emotional vocals ever heard from the band. When the track gets into full gear with the second almost 11 minute part of the track, it confirms what most people know already......this band know how to write a damn fine tune. 'Oak Ritual Part 2' goes through a series of changes, each of them exciting and emotionally driven. One fuzz-laden riff after another bombard the ear-drums and that is all reinforced with some titanic drumming. The song comes to its real end with atmospheric keys being played over the top of thunderstorm samples after a passage of extended silence.

When it is all said and done, 'White Hoarhound' seems a little short or maybe it seems that way because the songs are so damn catchy. The album is challenging and complex in small does, simple and straight-forward at other times but always engaging and infectious. Every detail within the band is approaching some kind of peak and working at peak efficiency and there is not one member of this great band who hasn't improved in some way with this disc. Looking back at it now, the EP 'Fall To Earth' is really just a good demo on a CD, the début album 'Call Of Avernus' is an almost perfect representation of the band live, while 'White Hoarhound' is the band displaying their strengths as songwriters and studio musicians so you could say that within just three releases, they have successfully nailed the three most important steps in being a band's progression.

Along with the likes of Undersmile and a few other UK bands who have released some of the best albums of the year in 2012, Alunahare another band that are proving once again that the UK is the true home of doomy rock. However don't expect just another doom-plod fest with 'White Hoarhound' because Alunah are certainly not a doom act per-se but do expect a track-for-track, no-holds barred exceptionally catchy album. I can't come out with a tired old cliché like "they have arrived" or whathaveyou, I thought they arrived in a big way with 'Call Of Avernus' but 'White Hoarhound' shows a band maturing at a rate that most other bands can only dream of.....Out now on PsycheDOOMelic Records....9.5/10.

Doom Metal is by now a fairly wide field, and since the days of Black Sabbath, Witchfinder General and Count Raven much has changed. Especially shone a time stamp "Doom" on a lot of publications on first listen fit is not so in the set up by the founding fathers sound training Balden. Mixing with death metal, or even Gothic promoted a real spectrum light to sound worlds that still only to look hard.'s no wonder, then, that in this variety also female fronted doom metal is that my old chauvinist remained so far from his mind. Not because I'm so ne olle Nazisau who thinks women belong behind the stove, but just out of personal taste out, thanks to which I a gentle female voice never looked so close to dark and heavy music.

The band Alunah from the UK is a Doom combo with a singer on the mic.'s music can be somewhere between classic Doom and Stoner Metal lane is dominated by ultra-heavy guitar riffs, some significant psychedelic sprinklings and a depression-causing slowness. When the first notes of the opening track "Demeter's Grief" to swell ominously out of the boxes, you'd expect at any moment a tube-style one Messiah Mercolin or Scott "Wino" Weinrich, but Nope: Soph Days no less powerful female voice recites the verses of the Greek goddess of the harvest almost plaintively, as in a ritual I have to admit.! I was surprised the medications manual times not again Read and feel the side effects get. Initially irritated me that because Alunah thus leaving my usual listening material. But as an open music lover I was fair enough, the disc then play again. Meanwhile she has surely a dozen runs on the clock and I must say : Chapeau, Mrs. Day, they do their job "remarkable well".

At the latest with the title track "White Hoarhounds" me the artist from the rainy England in their world had caught that reminds me more and more of an induced by pagan rites drug intoxication. Maybe the reason of magical moments like the beginning of the third song, "Belial's Fjord ", which can result from hypnotic drums and brutal guitar riffs slowly swirling a deep lament that Day's voice brings to full fruition.

Perhaps the impression even from song titles like "The Offering" or "Oak ritual". The latter consists of two parts, one is first intoned with delicate acoustic guitars, Hammond organ sounds and the singing and the second part comes along then as a ten-minute doom epic including a long break and mysterious ending. The musicians thematically anyway probably a little with the pagan past of their island and run all sorts of studies involved in occult realms. To what extent issues in the field of the Wiccan faith with built in, I dare almost as a layman in this field, not to judge, but I would be surprised if, in a singer not the female side would also find that content emphasis. "White Hoarhound" I liked only one reason, at first hearing, and not immediately as this is pretty subjective, I can safely ignore it in my final conclusion.

Overall Alunah namely make a pretty good piece on the floor doom and manage to transport a lot of spirituality and emotions in their sombre tones They remain exciting, despite the delays and are independent enough -. alone is thanks to the charismatic front woman - to be not a simple clone as it was on an album by Saint Vitus times. "?

You are the children of doom and we are your fathers. " Sure, but this child has grown up.

This past week, the British doom metal band Alunah released their second album, titled "White Hoarhound" on PsycheDOOMelic Records. Soph Day, lead singer and guitarist of the band, was nice enough to sit down and have a chat with Gabriel from 339metal about the new album, performing live, and more!

To hear the interview in its entirety, you may stream the recording through our Bandcamp profile as it was originally run on Saturday Night Metal.

339metal: How have you and the guys reacted to all of the positive buzz going on with "White Hoarhound"?

Soph: It's really amazing. I don't think we actually expected it to go as well as it's been going, but so far we haven't had any terrible reviews yet. I mean, there is time yet, it's only been out a week. But yeah, so far everything's been great and people have been really kind about the record. So, we couldn't be any happier about it really.

339metal: In comparison to "Call of Avernus" your first album, there is a lot darker, and a lot deeper of a feel than the previous album. Was there any difference between the two writing sessions? And if so, what would you say the difference would have been?

Soph: Yeah, with "Call of Avernus" we started the band in like 2006. So it came out in 2010. So that whole time really we were writing material for "Call of Avernus." So, sort of 3 to 4 years really. And in that time we had a change in bass player. And our new bass player contributes a lot more to the writing process. He's actually a guitar player as his primary instrument. And he's contributed a lot to the album, and that's a change. And also, with "[White] Hoarhound" I think we had a better idea of where we wanted to take it; the sound we wanted to create. So, that helps. Whereas "[Call of} Avernus" was like a real mash-up of ideas over quite a long time really. Whereas "[White] Hoarhound" has been like a year. It's a lot more targeted, you know. We said, "Well, this is how we want it to sound. This is the direction we want to go in." Also, I think the subject matter, like the lyrics- I started to look at other areas to explore. And, I think the subject matters have been darker. I think the music sort of lended itself to that really.

339metal: What would you say the writing process, or the writing session was like for "White Hoarhound"?

Soph: With "Call of Avernus" I think we sort of wrote the songs, and sort of went with what we wrote, straight after. There was a few tweaks, but generally we just went with what we wrote in the first place. But With "[White] Hoarhound" for example, "Demeter's Grief" that has had like three different versions. It's almost like we wrote three different songs and settled on the final one. And, "The Offering" that had two different versions. Originally it was really, really fast. It was almost like a punk song. But we really slowed it down. Because we had a direction of where we'd like to take it, it does flow better. "Chester Midsumer Watch Parade" that was the first song that we actually wrote off "[White] Hoarhound." We kind of used that as an influence, or a benchmark. We wrote it, and we were all really happy with it. And we were like, "This is how we want the direction of the album to go. So we kind of used that as a standard really, for the future of the album.

339metal: Anybody who follows you guys on Facebook or Twitter, etc... knows that you're very hard workers, especially over the last year, when it comes to live events and hitting the stage. Do you or any of the guys have any quirky, pre-show rituals that you have to perform before going up on stage? Anything odd or crazy?

Soph: Not necessarily, I wouldn't say odd or crazy... The past few months we've actually had these lava projectors. So we have this like, sort of "lava" light show going on onstage. But before we go on stage it’s normally us desperately trying to make sure they work. And they're pointed in a certain direction, that we want. You know, that looks good. Or it’s me trying to find a pint of cider from somewhere... We'd love to have the chance to have a bit of a chill before we go out on stage. And have someone else set all our equipment up. And set our projectors, so we can actually have time to have some sort of a ritual before we go on. That would be a lot better. At the moment, our sort of quirky ritual just tends to be trying to point lava projectors at the stage and trying to find a drink from somewhere, really.

339metal: Have you had any crazy show experiences, or anything particularly interesting that's happened at an Alunah show? Like anything out of the norm?

"I don't think we actually expected it to go as well as it's been going..."Soph: Well, we're a little bit like Spinal Tap, the stereotypical English band. I think because of the slow plunge of the music, we don't tend to get any crazy circle pits happening, or stage invasions. Or any storming the stage, or going mental, or smashing things. We do attract a lot of nutters. I'm sure a lot of our fans won't mind us saying that. But, they usually grab us before we're going on stage. We've had a few things but I wouldn't necessarily say they're crazy. I'd say they're more embarrassing. Things you could do without. We played a gig in a town called Lester. It's kind of in the midland. It's near sort of where we live. We were doing this gig and there weren't really that many people there. And our guitarist Dave, he used to work in like a salad factory. And we're halfway through the gig, we've got this atmosphere going. And we've got this sort of like vibe going, and suddenly there's this shout out from the audience. This woman shouted, "Are you Dave from the salad factory?!" And we've had something recently in Bristol... every time I touched the microphone; I was getting this electric shock through my mouth. And the sound guy took one of his socks off and put it over the microphone. So I'm singing into this dirty sock. It's normally embarrassing things like that that happen to us. It hasn't been anything spectacular. I think our audiences tend to be too stoned out of their mind to cause any crazy things to happen.

339metal: Even though they're not that crazy, singing into a dirty sock has to be somewhat memorable I'd imagine.

Soph: Yeah. Yeah, definitely memorable.

339metal: You guys switched record labels in between Avernus and the new record "White Hoarhound" What was the experience like switching over from Catacomb to PsycheDOOMelic?

Soph: Well basically, myself and Dave, we actually run Catacomb Records. Originally we started the label to help Alunah out. Then we moved on to other bands. So we expanded it for us as well. But we deal with Mark from PsycheDOOMelic. We do distribution as well. We trade our release for the other labels’ releases and we sale them in our online store. We used to deal quite a lot with Mark. He was like our main guy that we used to trade things with. So we'd send him Alunah's stuff and other bands off our label. And so when we wanted to do the second album, we did actually want to branch out and put it out to another label, basically. So we approached Mark, and he'd got "Call of Avernus" in his shop, and it'd been selling well. He was interested in us basically. It's just really nice to work with someone we've got experience with. We knew his history; we knew he's put some amazing bands out. We were like, over the moon when he wanted to invest into our band. It's great really. He's based in Austria, and we still wanted to make sure that our album was in the shops. So we're still involved with getting it distributed. We worked together on that one. It's really amazing for someone to believe in your band. And to want to spend that much money on you really. And he's been really supportive. And he's been great.

339metal: That's awesome. It seems that you've found a label that works as hard as you and your band mates do.

UK doom metal juggernauts Alunah are back with their second offering of haunting riffs and piercing vocals that will have you floating away in a haze of bong smoke in no time. 7 tracks of blistering doom laden goodness that truly reinforces their trademark style of surpassing boundaries and representing music that is not only influential but carries a genuine appeal, they are doom metal revolutionaries.The album opens with with down tuned reverb that looms between every subsequent note struck thereafter, while Soph Day’s majestic harmonizing paves the road for a psychedelic introspection into the occultist’s wonderland. Filled with groove that few can balance in reference to their tone White Hoarhound kills it track after track while showcasing something new woven into the duration, leaving its mark upon your subconscious to surface in those small moments when you can’t get a tune out of your head.Not unlike the quality of a darkened fairy-tale, Alunah casts the same spell over your senses, all the while appearing beautiful and majestic you cannot help but feel as if something sinister is lurking just beneath the surface. It is this same quality that left me somewhat astonished, especially considering I’m not a huge fan of doom/stoner releases, but I absolutely love originality and passion….and this band delivers those by the metric fuck-ton.Bottom line, Alunah set the standard yet again for doom ridden melodies in the form of White Hoarhound. I really cannot stress how good this album is and how much I suggest that everyone give it a spin and let it consume you…so why not just listen below. White Hoarhound is out now via PsycheDOOMelic Records, get into it.

Alunah are a Doom/Stoner Metal Band with a lot of cool psych/occult rock blended into their music. Alunah have been touted as one of the best Stoner/Doom Metal Bands the UK has to offer at the moment. And you know what it's praise wholly deserved. Alunah bring a fresh perspective to Doom/Stoner Metal.

They released their critically acclaimed debut album - Call of Avernus back in 2010. Well Alunah are back two years later with their most daring and creative work to date - White Hoarhound.

What follows is a 7 song and 50 minute blast of amazing Stoner/Doom Metal riffage from one of the very best female fronted bands the scene has to offer.

Alunah are led by the majestic and sultry vocals of the immensely talented Soph Day who has been described as one of the best female lead singers in the scene today. And on this evidence it's easy to see why.

Plus she is backed up by a great band behind her. These guys just fucking rock from start to finish.

You know when you hear the opening riffs of Demeter's Grief your in for a great time. It gets right down to business of playing sublime Psych based Doom/Stoner Metal riffs. A superb 7:37 minute epic that will get you in the mood to rock out in no time at all.

Next up is the brilliant title track - White Hoarhound - and possibly my fave track on the album as it has a crushing guitar riff that even the top bands would be proud to call their own. Plus some eerie vocals and lyrics to match that had from the word go. The 5:30 minutes just flies by and shows what truly talented songwriters Alunah actually are.

This song could be the perfect soundtrack to the next British big cult horror film. As it perfectly blends the style of a creepy sinister horror film that Britain used to make back in the day.

Alunah have other excellent songs and tricks up their sleeve by blending superb Occult references through out but driven by a great modern Doom/Stoner Metal edge.

Check out great tracks - Belial's Fjord, Chester Midsummer Watch Parade and the amazing two part classic - Oak Ritual Part 1 and Part 2.

Oak Ritual Part 2 is a 10 minute beast that is true force of nature. And one that only Alunah can deliver. Some of the best riffs are on this song. It will last long in the memory.

This album is already been acclaimed as a future classic and masterpiece. And you know what it. It fucking is. Alunah have delivered their best work to date. This should propel the guys onto the next level of Doom/Stoner Metal.

And it shows another truly talented female vocalist to look out for. It seems like the ladies of Doom/Stoner Metal are showing their male counterparts on how to deliver truly emotional charged and action packed vocals.

Now if we can get Soph, Hel & Taz from Undersmile, Mlny from Royal Thunder and Stevie from Dark Castle to form one big super-group I would die a happy man.

Anyway back to grounded reality. This album is a must for all fans of Doom/Stoner Metal. It's expertly recorded by Greg Chandler who done the recent excellent GENERAL. Remember Alunah features Gaz from General on Bass Duties. Plus this album has been mixed/mastered by the legend that is Tony Reed of Stone Axe and Mos Generator.

So yeah this album is something special and I urge you all to check it out now.

Brilliant. End Of.

White Hoarhound is available to buy on PsycheDOOMelic Records from all good stockists now. Or head over to Alunah's BandCamp Page and select whichever format you need.

Since the album was released on Monday, it has been chosen as Album of the Week three times as well as having some amazing write ups! Totally overwhelmed with the response we have had by music writers, existing fans and people just discovering us. Massive thanks going out to Adrian Begrand at MSN Entertainment, A.S Van Dorston at Fast 'n' Bulbous and Robert Cooper at 411 Mania.

"Alunah, White Hoarhound (Psychedoomelic): The second album by the UK band is a stunner. Not only is it first-rate English doom in the grand tradition of Cathedral, but singer/guitarist Soph Day lends the music some real personality with her soaring, often seductive lead vocals. Much like Witch Mountain does, songs like the title track and “Demeter’s Grief” combine soulful ‘60s psychedelia with the slow, thudding bluesy grooves listeners expect, and in the case of "The Offering", is capable of mighty wicked grooves. In addition, the lyrics paint fascinating little portraits that often delve into English folklore, as on the enigmatic “Chester Midsummer Watch Parade”. In a subgenre where adhering to a set formula is of paramount importance, it’s great to hear a newer band like Alunahdo so and yet create music with as much charisma as what’s on display on this record."

"Doom metal is an interesting beast, a sub-genre of metal that has seemingly infiltrated most bands dealing in heavy stoner rock and psych all the way to funereal doom and even some black metal. Many associate it with the 70s, even though the genre didn’t really exist then. Obviously Black Sabbath are the originators, but not everything they did was that doomy, just like very few Led Zeppelin songs were actually metal. Traditional doom really refers to the 80s, with Witchfinder General, Saint Vitus, Pentagram and Trouble providing the template that would be followed ever since, from Cathedral, Count Raven and Solitude Aeturnus to the dozens of bands that have proliferated in the last decade. And with only a few exceptions, they have crappy vocals. Perhaps in deference to Ozzy, doom bands just didn’t feel it was right to have a proper singer. That’s changed recently when Alunah entered the scene, straight from doom’s birthplace of Birmingham, England, with the 2008 EP Fall To Earth. Vocalist Sophie Day’s accomplished vocals brought some color and life into doom, which was shocking in a way, as if someone pulled the curtains open and let the sun stream into a funeral service. Not to everyone’s taste then, but adding a welcome dimension for many fans.It seemed Alunah’s arrival opened some floodgates, either by coincidence, zeitgeist or inspiration, and soon after they released their promising debut album, Call Of Avernus (2010), along came Witchburn, Castle and Witch Mountain (who had been around for years but only recently added Uta) all with strong women vocalists, and many other doom-inspired bands also inspired by 60s occult, psych and prog like The Devil’s Blood, Blood Ceremony and Jess and the Ancient Ones, all covered earlier this year in Metal Sirens.White Hoarhound is a significant step forward in Alunah’s progression. Not that they really change up their sound significantly. Due to their experience in the studio and on the road, Day’s voice sounds more confident and forceful over heavier and more textured riffs. If anything, the band has more enthusiastically embraced the traditional doom sound than ever before, and come up with something that will likely be referenced as a highlight of the sub-genre. That’s not to say they’re one-dimensional. The 10:44 closer “Oak Ritual II” delves into some nice Hendrixian psychedelia, a facet that’s often been a key element in the more interesting doom tunes. “The Offering” offers a bit of classic rock riffing. But the rest of the album is all heavy, plodding ‘n’ nodding doom, like “Belial’s Fjord” that teases with a potential crescendo, but offers no release. “Demeter’s Grief” taps into that special groovy swing Black Sabbath often had, while the title track is more uptempo.In a year with exceptional doom releases from Americans Witch Mountain and Castle, Alunah represents UK Doom brilliantly. Head should scoop them all up. "

(Translated from Germany)"Long, heavy guitar riffs. A female lead vocal, which works dramatically cumbersome by the lyrics. Sombre, melancholy mood. All that distinguishes the band Alunah which is Doom Metal home. Six years pass band and a series of live performances lead to the unofficial coronation of "The Future of Doom" by Terrorizer Magazine. The release of their second studio album, "White Hoarhund" should prove whether this high praise for the four-piece band around front lady Soph Day is justified.A total of 48 minutes of playing time before seven gaping gloomy melancholy songs have been immortalized, competing specially."Demeter's Grief" begins cumbersome and can be a lot of time to get started. After about 40 seconds, the first tentative drums around which meander aforementioned eternal sounds of the guitar. The deep bass sound with the complains of a deep rumbling tones of cargo. The last crucial element, the lead vocal classified himself in a higher pitch, giving the sound a subtle brightening that dissolves directly through textual severity. The overall sound of the band fits together like a gear and creates an almost eerie tense atmosphere, which you can not escape. The title track "White Hoarhound" takes on the shaft with the depth and spins the spiral. Just as "White Hoarhound" grab the songs into each other voices. The bass, which must be set to low point is, while supporting the front direction. Despite album Cross, atmospheric mood one discovers on his journey always new bright spots and enjoying this. Especially the blonde singer Soph Day understands the charm of her voice succeeded in the pauses of the thundering guitars and embed it to suggest anything between melancholy and hope."White Hoarhound" is an interesting album that can be made with few nuances much and the receiver can pick up despite a similar sound - provided he allows it. Not everyone will appreciate this dark genre of Doom well. Fans of this style, however, are bound to find their pleasure in the album from which no song can stand on its own, but in which the whole work should be evaluated.Playing tips: "Demeter's Grief" and "The Offering"Rating: 2.4"

Beautiful review from 339 Metal, listen out for an interview with Soph soon... both on their radio station and in their magazine!

“White Hoarhound” – by Alunah. After spending the greater majority of the year waiting for the newest noise out of Britain, it is finally here! It has been quite a while since I have personally anticipated a sophomore release with so longingly. But, having been given the great fortune of randomly stumbling upon “Call of Avernus,” I was more than ready to give the newest Alunah composition a listen.

From the very beginning, you are taken on a journey, with Soph and the boys playing tour guide into the deep, dark depths of the doomy world they call home. “White Hoarhound” seems to have a mature and sophisticated feel to it. In their first album, I sensed the vibe that Alunah was ready to take on the world. With their latest release, I sensed that Alunah had become the world.

Pseudo-philosophical senses and feelings aside- the notations, vocal melodies, and overall tone of the record tend to lean towards a slower, darker, and deeper base than its predecessor. From the beginning whispers, and eerie tones, you are fully aware that you are about to enter a very different, very real place.

On the first track, “Demeter’s Grief” you are welcomed and reassured that this IS, in fact, the same Alunah you know and love. The doomy qualities you know and love are all there. I won’t bore you with explaining the guitar tones, or tuning used... But, if you have heard an Alunah song before, trust me – it’s them. I am personally a very big fan of what they do. Every riff is well written, well thought out, and always has a clear cut path ahead of it. As always, the riffs are slow and methodical, and never overstep the boundaries of what the song calls for. They solos all seem to have just the right amount of fuzz to separate them from the choruses and verses.

The drums are constant, and keep the pace running quite comfortably. Alunah is a band that enjoys switching the tempo to emphasize important parts of their songs, and the drummer serves as a steady guide through the calmest insanity that you have ever heard.

As always, the vocals are distinct, and beautiful. There is a charming quality about how well the downtuned guitars and vocal styling tend to mesh together, almost perfectly. It is like being reassured of what hope may still exist while you sit in a drudged and muddy storm that signifies the end of the world. It’s crisp, it’s unique, and it’s simply beautiful amongst the filthy sludge.

All in all, this is a great record that gave me everything that I was hoping it would give to me. However, I must state that there was a certain and peculiar uneasiness that filled me while I listened to it. A feeling that there was far more emotion backing the music then the lyrics seem to allude to. “White Hoarhound” has a much, MUCH darker feel to it than “Call of Avernus” did. I imagine that it was written with a very heavy heart. It is not as care-free and jovial as their earlier recordings. In my opinion, it almost seems that this recording seems to be a bit more of a statement then an album. Alunah is here to stay, and does not plan on vacating its place in the world any time soon.

Cheers to Stormbringer Magazine from Austria, we're not 100% on the translation... but looks pretty awesome to us!

"From the Midlands comes the doom quartet ALUNAH that about me until then completely unknown, Austrian (!) Label PsycheDOOMelic Records throws her latest full length in the in-Schlurfgang then swaggering mob. The four English women were in the six years since its founding by no means idle. In addition to the debut album "Call of Avernus", the "Fall to Earth" EP and a "Song of the Sun" single, graduated to countless appearances in the United Kingdom and erspielte so the reputation of one of the hardest working bands from the UK to be. Well, all this is, of course not, if the songs are not disclosed would pass the quality test. But it does in the case of ALUNAH and its seven tracks of the second blank "White Hoarhound". Here is beautiful epic, indeed celebrated even romantic tinged Doom, has said through the fragile, yet firmly established voice of Soph Day still noticed a touch more to Hörenswertem. Especially the guitar sound of Dave Day (should the wedded wife of singing Lady be) recalled in many phases of the beginnings of SAINT VITUS, or PENTAGRAM. Both are by now risen to true doom legends, must reach the ALUNAH but still a piece of work, because of all the class exhibit "White Hoarhound" has legendary status will not drive the British women so. To be maintained to turn into a bag of peace, these are songs like the thoughtful opener "Belial's Fjord", or more than ten minutes long mammoth epic "Oak Ritual II" but ideal."

“Doom with a difference” was my first impression after playing the 2nd full length studio album, White Hoarhound by Birmingham based Pagan doom metal band Alunah. The reason for this is the haunting vocals of female Soph Day. I have not come across a female fronted doom metal band before and her clean delivery gives the listener insight to the meaning of the 7 tracks here.White Hoarhound follows their debut album Call Of Averlus and e.p Fall To Earth but is their first release on PscychDOOMelic Records due out on Monday,Sept. 3rd. Recorded by Greg Chandler and mixed/mastered by Tony Reed, it is nearly 50 minutes of crushing but at times melodic doom metal.The sign of a good doom metal band is feedback and a surge of this opens the album’s first track, the claustrophobic Demeter’s Grief. The main riff comes in with Gaz Imber’s bass weaving in and out of it. The song comes to life when Soph’s vocals begin. Demeter’s Grief’s almost 8 minute length has 2 Black Sabbath type tempo changes with intermittent guitar solos. The tone of which bring to mind Ed Mundel, ex Monster Magnet guitarist. The title track follows with lumbering guitars with a higher range vocal. There is a Thin Lizzy style guitar break midway, that is if they played it at Alunah speed!Belial’s Fjord begins with an Indian wardance style drum patterns as heavily distorted guitars rise and fall around them. A very atmospheric number, again just under the 8 minute mark, giving the band an opportunity to punish their instruments as Soph wails ” Yeah eh eh Belial’s Fjord “. The pace picks up with the mid paced stomp of The Offering with a stoner riff similar to Kiss’ Detroit Rock City! The guitar solo midway slows the track right down, trading notes with the bass guitar.Chester Midsummer Witch Parade’s spacey intro is followed by a juddering bass riff which is then taken on by guitar as if it wasn’t heavy enough already! It surges like this until the 5 minute mark as the tempo shifts with added serrating wah wah guitar solos. White Hoarhound closes with parts 1 & 2 of Oak Ritual. Part 1 is a brief acoustic/keyboard lead number with a pleading vocal. The 11 minute Part 2 is a different beast altogether as one fuzzed up riff after another compete with hammer blow drums. This continues until the 4th minute as a guitar solo incorporates the main riff with a lilting vocal as the song fades out at 7 minutes. After 2 minute’s silence, the song ends with keyboards over a thunderstorm sound effect.White Hoarhound is a very challenging but rewarding listening experience and i can highly recommend it for fans of stoner/doom/psychedelic metal.